October 3, 2007

"I just wanted to give the fireworks guy a rest." : Good Sporting News profile of Sox manager Terry Francona.

read story | posted by yerfatma to Baseball at 3:04 PM CDT (11 comments total)

This is a most entertaining piece, fatty. Francona's persistence in continuing to use players who are not performing at their best will pay off in one of two ways. Either the player finally snaps out of whatever was holding him back and starts to shine, or the player finally realizes that he is hurting the team and lets Francona know it. It is known as taking personal responsibility for your actions, and it appears that this is Francona's creed. His ability to deal with diverse personalities and free spirits was evident with the "Idiots" of Damon and Millar in 2004. All reports I have heard are that the players respond well to him because of his honesty with them. Couple that with the fact that I have never heard of his publicly making one negative remark about a player, and you have the ideal boss.

If his health stands up to the rigors of the job, I'm certain that, win or lose, he will be in the Red Sox dugout for a long time.

posted by Howard_T at 4:25 PM CDT on October 3

Boston deserves to be in the spotlight. I'm tired of ESPN always resorting first to the Yankees every time they shoot SportsCenter. I hope they lose in the first round. How's about a Red Sox/Cubs World Series? Come on, anything can happen...

posted by Marko2020 at 7:59 PM CDT on October 3

well, as an Orioles fan (..ya i know, thought we were extinct huh?) i HATE the yankees...even though the red sox and yankees are in my division, i'll pull for the sox any day and anyone playing against the yanks get my support too!

posted by JIMMYBONG at 5:05 PM CDT on October 4

This is a necessity because Francona has the most difficult job in sports... uh, what?

No team draws crowds like the Red Sox... WHAT?

Otherwise, nice article. Francona is easy to root for -- great manner, great sense of humor, plenty of character. The story about Manny asking to use the cell phone is pretty classic, too.

Boston deserves to be in the spotlight.

Yeah, poor Boston and their media deprivation.

posted by The Crafty Sousepaw at 9:36 AM CDT on October 5

This is a necessity because Francona has the most difficult job in sports... uh, what?

I interpreted that as the author's saying that he's got a fan base of backseat drivers to contend with, more so than other franchises. I suspect that that may be true -- Bostonians take their baseball pretty personally.

No team draws crowds like the Red Sox... WHAT?

Same thing -- it may not be absolute numbers, but going to Fenway is a gotta-do thing in Boston the way going to Shea or Yankee Stadium just isn't in New York. "I want to see a game at Fenway" is one of the most consistent requests of visitors -- I don't think you get that as much with other teams.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 10:13 AM CDT on October 5

Same thing -- it may not be absolute numbers, but going to Fenway is a gotta-do thing in Boston the way going to Shea or Yankee Stadium just isn't in New York

I have to agree with you, lbb. One of my dreams is to sit on the green monster and watch a game at Fenway. I can't say I feel the same way about Shea or Yankee Stadium. I mean, it would be cool, but I don't feel as strongly about it. Got to see a Phillies game last year, Cubs, Royals, and Cards, this year. Hopefully Fenway next June.

posted by hawkguy at 11:00 AM CDT on October 5

but going to Fenway is a gotta-do thing in Boston the way going to Shea or Yankee Stadium just isn't in New York.

with the wrecking ball coming soon in the Bronx i think the "must see" appeal is probably close to that of Boston. it seemed like every other game this year i would meet tourists who either made it a point to go to the Stadium on their trip or scheduled their vacation around going to a game.

posted by goddam at 12:04 PM CDT on October 5

1. If you don't see making the claim that "managing the Red Sox is the hardest job in all of sports" as stunningly cartoonish hyperbole, then no, we are just not going to agree on this. The hardest job in all of sports? I don't think it's the hardest job on his own team.

2. His point has absolutely nothing to do with what people on vacation in Boston have on their itinerary. To say that no team draws crowds like the Red Sox is not only wrong, it is physically impossible. Even if you want to argue that he's speaking in generalities, and really what he means is that no team draws attention like the Red Sox, he'd still be wrong. I'm not denying the Red Sox draw, but I don't think you can separate them as standing alone in the way the writer does.

Semantics. These are pretty small and peripheral points in the article that I just found surprising. I'm not really sure why I'm bothering to argue this -- maybe I'm just grouchy today.

posted by The Crafty Sousepaw at 12:30 PM CDT on October 5

Judging by attendance at road games played by Boston and the Yankees, Crafty has a very valid point. New York does outdraw Boston on the road, but only by a little. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I'm fairly confident in the above.

On edit: Crafty, perhaps a "happy pill" will help. After last night, I don't blame you for feeling a bit down, but I'm sure that NY will do the same thing to Cleveland in this series.

posted by Howard_T at 12:31 PM CDT on October 5

New York does outdraw Boston on the road, but only by a little. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I'm fairly confident in the above.

Actually, you'd be wrong. In 2007 the sox were mlb's biggest road draw, making it 2 out of the last 3 years.

posted by justgary at 10:34 PM CDT on October 5

Actually, you'd be wrong. In 2007 the sox were mlb's biggest road draw, making it 2 out of the last 3 years.

sure, with a little help from the Yankees and their 56,000+ seat stadium. throw out the games at the Stadium for Boston and the games at Fenway for the Yanks and it's a different story.

posted by goddam at 4:52 PM CDT on October 6

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